


The Milk Thickens

by OndoriNaramaki



Series: The Milk Series [2]
Category: Lucha Underground
Genre: Cuerno is actually nicer than he likes to believe, Cuerno reluctantly helping, Even though he doesn't act like it, Hurt Puma, Milk, Recovery, Slight mystery, if you haven't read the previous story, mentions of past rape
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-08
Updated: 2017-09-29
Packaged: 2018-11-29 07:54:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 4
Words: 13,532
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11436489
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OndoriNaramaki/pseuds/OndoriNaramaki
Summary: Puma is gravely injured at the temple after hours and just left there to bleed, unable to call out to anybody.Help comes from a very unlikely place. Or rather, person.





	1. Happenstance

**Author's Note:**

> This is actually a continuation of another story of mine ("Poison in the Milk"), but can be read as a stand alone, and might even be more interesting that way. So, your choice!

Cuerno slammed his car door, annoyed that he had to make an extra full round trip because he forgot something at the temple and only remembered it after he was back home. He made his way through the building, but gave pause when he got to the locker room. There was a scent in the air he'd recognize anywhere: 

Blood.

He rounded the corner and froze at the scene that greeted him: An unconscious Puma lying on the floor with a small pool of drying blood around his uncovered lower half, and a spilled milk carton off to the side. He had one guess as to what happened here.

Within a second he was crouching by the carton, sniffing the milk to confirm his suspicions. _Spiked._  
Within the next he was by Puma's side, checking him over to note his breathing was very shallow. He called an ambulance, and after several minutes even had to perform CPR when Puma stopped breathing entirely. 

 

The paramedics arrive in record time and Cuerno relays to them what little information he has while getting out of their way so they have room to work.  
After they give the unconscious man a quick once over they strap a clear mask to his face and administer some liquid from a hypodermic needle into his arm. Then they are carting him off, and Cuerno's job is done. 

 

After a few seconds the hunter heads off into the night, but for some strange reason instead of going back to his car, his feet carry him to the open rear doors of the ambulance where the injured fighter is being loaded. 

"I'm coming." Slips past his lips before he even knows what he's doing. 

"I'm sorry sir, but-" the taller of the two EMTs begins, but is cut off by the shorter one, who's probably in charge.  
"Alright, but hurry up because we got to get going right _now_." She allows, knowing Cuerno probably wouldn't take no for an answer anyway. Smart.  
He hops in just before they shut the doors (on him) and takes a seat where he can keep an eye on Puma, and wonder why the hell he felt compelled to come along.

-

Cuerno stayed by the fallen luchador's side until he was being admitted into the ER, where the hunter was told he couldn't enter. 

He glared at the closed doors and decided now would be a good time to just go home and be done with it all, then started off for the exit.  
He made it as far as the lobby before coming to an abrupt halt. Clenching his fists and letting out a long sigh, he swiped a chair and hauled it over to the doors to the ER, preparing himself for a long wait and glaring at anyone that came too close. 

 

~*~*~*~

 

Puma slowly comes to, feeling like he got hit in the head with a crowbar (and he has first hand knowledge of exactly what that feels like). Before he even opens his eyes he smells the telltale scent of antiseptic and hears a soft beeping noise, so out of curiosity he lifts his lids so he can intake his surroundings visually. His vision is still a bit blurry from sleep though, so he moves to rub at his eyes, but feels a strange tug on his right hand and looks down to see what look like _wires_ coming out of it.

Just then Puma's attention is diverted by someone in a long white coat, carrying a clipboard entering the room. "Ah, I see you're awake now. That's good."

Puma looks back down at his hand, vision having cleared a bit more by this point, and sees that the 'wires' are actually an IV tube and what appears to be a heart monitor. Ah, he must be in a hospital, and that person who just walked in must be a doctor.

"How are you feeling?" Said doctor asks while flipping through the papers attached to the clipboard. 

Puma just squints at her, wondering what in the world is going on. Why is he here?

Having not heard a response to her question she glances up and sees the look being directed at her. "Oh right, I'll take that as 'like shit'." She muttered the second half so only she could hear.  
"Better question: do you remember what happened?"

Puma pauses at that, trying to remember how he got here (or even what happened before that), but coming up blank. He slowly shakes his head in response. 

"Okay then." She scribbles something down on the clipboard and sets it aside before taking a breath and starting to explain.  
"You were attacked last night, and your friend called an ambulance and came along with you."

Oh, that would explain the pain coming from the backside of his head. But wait -the latter portion of what she just said then registered in Puma's slightly sleep muddled mind-, _friend? Who would that be?_

Just then he spots none other than Cuerno turn the corner -with a cup of coffee in hand, he noted- and enter the room. 

"Ah, there he is. Speak of the devil." She muttered the last part almost silently.

 _What?_ Since when is Cuerno his friend? Did he miss something?

The man in question takes a seat in the uncomfortable looking hospital chair beside the bed and starts to sip his coffee, avoiding Puma's gaze by looking at the doctor while Puma stared at him. 

_What is he even doing here?_  
Puma's attention is pulled away when the doctor starts asking him another question.

"So, what is the last thing you _do_ remember?"

 

 _Hmm, what was the last thing he remembered?_ Now that he's focusing on it his head feels a bit fuzzy and he can't seem to pinpoint anything precisely, everything being a bit of a blur. But how was he supposed to tell her that?

"Doctor Irving," Cuerno interjects. "I probably should have mentioned this earlier, but my friend here doesn't talk." He finishes, gesturing at Puma (still without looking at him).

Doctor Irving's eyes widened comically.  
"Oh my goodness, I am so sorry. I should've noticed that by now. One second." She makes a dive for her clipboard and starts furiously scribbling things down again.

Puma really wonders what it is she's writing on that funny board of hers, but thinks maybe he shouldn't snoop...  
Curiosity wins out in the end and Puma starts to sit up to see what she's writing. 

Big mistake.

He feels intense pain shoot up his spine starting from right beneath his tailbone, which he suspects can only mean one thing, given his current situation. 

_'You were attacked'_

He freezes in place and his blood runs cold.  
His breathing starts to speed up and tears start to sting his eyes at the thought of what must've happened. Why doesn't he remember?

 

\--

_It was the middle of the night, Puma had gotten out of the ER about an hour ago, and Cuerno was keeping vigil beside him in the private room the injured fighter was given._

_He stared at Puma's sleeping face and squinted, wondering what he was doing by the injured man's side; he'd already done his part and got Puma the help he needed, so why the hell was he still here?_

_Just then a doctor walked into the room and introduced herself to the hunter. "Name's Dr. Irving. You must be the friend who brought him in."_

_At Cuerno's curt nod she continued. "Well, good thing you found him when you did." She didn't wait for Cuerno to ask why before explaining.  
"Turns out he had been given a potentially lethal dose of what's colloquially known as a predator drug. He was lucky you showed up when you did, or he wouldn't've made it. Hell, he's lucky he's still alive even _with_ that being the case." She grimaced. "We managed to flush most of the toxins from his system, but he'll still be suffering after effects for a few days at least._

_"Unfortunately that mixed with the concussion -which adds many more variables to the situation- means there's a good chance he might not remember exactly what happened or who did it."_

_Grunting in response, Cuerno turned to look back at Puma, wondering how they'd explain things to him if that ended up being the case._

\--

And now he found himself looking at Puma and wondering the same thing again.

Puma was starting to tense up and breathe faster, a look of realization and horror blossoming on his face.  
If he didn't calm the younger man down soon Puma might start hyperventilating. 

\--

Puma was starting to feel light-headed and like his chest was too tight; if he couldn't even remember who r-... did this to him, how could he make sure it didn't happen again? They could just walk through those doors any second and he'd be none the wiser!  
It was becoming hard to pull in any proper oxygen and he felt like he might soon pass out when he's suddenly pulled from his thoughts by some kind of yellow cloth being thrust in front of his face. 

Wait, was that his _mask?_  
He touched his face in confusion, feeling not dyed leather, but bare skin... and wetness. Was he crying?

Just then Cuerno spoke up. "They had to take it off to tend to your head injury." He said, sipping from his coffee again, legs crossed in casual relaxation, and staring off at the wall, still holding the mask out to his side so Puma can grab it.

 

Dr. Irving -having been too busy furiously writing down pertinent notes to notice the quiet accelerated breathing- turns around in time to see the injured fighter slowly reaching up and taking the proffered article from the one who brought him in.  
Judging by the tears on the guy's face, he must've figured out what happened and Cuerno must've calmed him down, seeing as he isn't currently freaking out.  
Hmm, must mean he's actually a good friend, despite his gruff (and frankly kinda scary) exterior.  
Good, that made her much more comfortable about this next part.

"Puma, was it?" She begins as she approaches the bed.  
Puma wipes his eyes and gives a nod.  
"I know this must be hard for you, but I'm guessing you've figured out what the nature of the attack was, and now we need to decide what the next step to take is. Which brings me to this here guy's proposition." She gestures at Cuerno. 

Puma's eyebrows scrunch together in confusion and he looks over at the hunter, who has now finally deigned to look him in the eye.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Boy that sure took a while to finish up and post, but at least it is done! Now I can work on the next part, but that will probs take a while too since I am not a fast writer by any means. XP


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alrighty, got another chunk finished! #HappyDance  
> Hope you enjoy~

Puma's eyebrows scrunch together in confusion and he looks over at the hunter, who has now finally deigned to look him in the eye.

\---

 __  
_Cuerno turned away from Puma to look back at the Doctor who had just broken the news to him._  
_"Whoever we're dealing with might be very dangerous." He began, thinking that whoever did this left him there probably knowing he would die. They might not be happy he's still kicking, and if they find out he's here they might just come down and try to finish the job.  
"And if what you said ends up being the case and he doesn't remember who did it, what precautions would be taken?"_

__

__

__

__

_"Hmm," he had a good point; the luchadors were known for getting mixed up with some crazy people at the best of times. Best bet was to err on the side of caution.  
"we could set up a security team of 2 by the door to make sure no one enters without permission." _

__

__

_Cuerno almost scoffed at the suggestion.  
"That won't be sufficient; the chances of it having been another wrestler are quite high, and if it was, a security team would be useless against them." Cuerno knows they would be tantamount to **flies** against himself. _

__

_"Hmm, well then I guess we could-"_

_"He's coming with me." And Cuerno's mouth was moving without his permission again, but now that he's started along this path he feels he must continue. "My place would be the safest for him; nobody knows where I live."_ And it's the last place anyone would check even if they did know _-he kept the last part to himself-._

_"Are you sure? You would have to take full responsibility for him and oversee his treatment. That would be quite time consuming and hands-on."_

_"I can handle it." Cuerno assured. "Just give me the instructions and supplies, and I'll take care of the rest."_

_Dr. Irving was silent for a moment, but after a couple seconds of contemplation she spoke up. "Alright, that actually sounds like a solid idea, so I'll tell you what: if it does end up being the case that he doesn't remember,_ and _he agrees to it when he wakes up, I'll allow it."  
_ As a special case since their security guards wouldn't be able to do much against surprise dropkicks _-but she leaves that last part out-._

\--

"So there you have it." Dr. Irving spoke as they finished their explanation. "Now the choice is up to you, any thoughts?"

Puma looked down at his lap in contemplation.  
They had a good point; he'd be much safer at an unknown location under these circumstances than at a semi-public place like a hospital (where he could be found if someone was determined enough).  
Especially since he couldn't remember who his... attacker was. As he thought earlier, it could be anyone. Even-

Puma's eyes widened in shock and sudden realization, an audible gasp almost escaping him as a thought crossed his mind. It's possible the hunter could've done it, then called the ambulance and played it off as him somehow stumbling upon him in time, knowing Puma probably wouldn't remember, and using that to his advantage.

He turns to his left to study the man who supposedly saved him -and who is currently staring at and fiddling with his now empty disposable coffee cup- and for some reason he can just tell that Cuerno didn't have anything to do with the attack (kinda the opposite in fact).  
And while he couldn't figure out why Cuerno would be helping him, he wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth.  
Deciding the advantages outweighed any possible disadvantages he turned toward the Doctor, looked her directly in the eye and gave a strong nod, signaling that he was up for it.

"Alright, and just so you're aware we'll need to put you under for the trip so you won't experience what might be a rough ride, are you cool with that as well?"

Puma was more than a bit nervous about that part, but he knew it was for the best in the long run, so he eventually looked over at Cuerno (who was now carving shapes into his empty coffee cup with a pocket knife) and gave another nod.

"Okay, it's decided then." She marked something off on her handy dandy clipboard before continuing.  
"But before we have you go anywhere you might want to have something a little more casual to wear." Puma raised an eyebrow and looked down to see he was basically wearing a dress, which made him very uncomfortable. Because he wasn't used to his chest being covered (unless it was by a soft sweater).

"Don't worry about that though; we have clothing donated for situations just like this. Well, not just like it, but you know." She mumbled the last part before continuing. "And your... friend here can pick something out for you while I have my nurse get started on the procedure."

\---

Cuerno followed Dr. Irving's instructions to the donated clothing closet and noted with a bit of annoyance that there were hardly any men's clothes. He settled on a pair of sweatpants that looked like they'd fit himself, since he and Puma were basically the same size. He didn't bother with a shirt since he's never seen Puma wear one. 

He was most of the way back to the room when he spotted the Doctor standing by a counter, having already collected the necessary medication while he was getting the pants, and beckoned him over. 

"Oh good, I see you found the closet just fine. My nurse should be finished up about now and can put those on your friend while I go over the supplies and stuff with you. Johnson!" She called the last part out over her shoulder in the direction of Puma's hospital room. 

A rather tall and lanky 'Johnson' poked their head out of said room, and scuttled over to the two of them. Then after getting told by Dr. Irving what it was she wanted, grabbed hold of the pants and left to do just that. 

While that was happening Dr. Irving started going over the different pills and dosages Puma would have to be taking. Like pain meds for the obvious, antibiotics to prevent infection and anti-inflammatory for the concussion just in case. 

Then while explaining the after effects of the predator drugs -like the possible nausea, vomiting, etc- she studies the man's face carefully, looking for any hints of him being reluctant at having to deal with any of the less than pleasant stuff (because it wasn't too late to pull the plug on the operation if she thought Cuerno wasn't qualified) and being pleasantly surprised when he didn't even blink. Hm, must have some experience with this kinda stuff, or at least something similar. Either way it looked like Puma would be in good hands. She checked that off on her mental clipboard.

 

Cuerno listened intently as Irving finished up explaining the possible -and probable- side effects when she suddenly bent over and pulled a big duffle bag out of seemingly nowhere. 

The hunter didn't even need to ask what it was for, as his single raised eyebrow did the trick just fine. 

"This here holds the other supplies you'll be needing." 

After she finished her explanations for _that_ she called out nurse Johnson once again, and Cuerno had to witness the strange scuttling of the lanky figure a second time. 

"Please finish up the paperwork while I check on Puma's vitals to make sure he's cleared to go." She says while handing Johnson a clipboard that Cuerno was almost certain she didn't have just a minute ago, and heading off.

 

While she was away Cuerno turned toward the nurse who was quickly and efficiently putting graphite to paper. "Is that really necessary?" He asked, gesturing to the paperwork, thinking it'd be best for Puma's anonymity if there was nothing on record.

"Yes, just in case something happens and he's brought back in, whoever's here will know who and what they're dealing with. And it'll be kept in a secure location where only those with clearance can get to it." Replied Johnson, astutely figuring out what the dude's concern was.

Cuerno let out a short grunt in reply, thinking that the nurse's words made enough sense, but saw no reason for the hunter himself to be included. "Just make sure to leave _me_ out of it. For safety reasons." He finished, now looking her dead in the eye.

 

She couldn't tell whether he was referring to the safety of Puma, or _her_. Could easily be a threat.  
"Yeah, no problem." She was quick to agree.

Cuerno squints at her for good measure, but lets it go at that. 

-

Soon Cuerno is carefully loading Puma into the back seat of his truck, laying him across the bench (and leaving the gurney in the middle of the parking lot for someone else to deal with). He buckles the injured fighter in with at least 2 seat belts, and is off on the way to his own house. But not before making a quick stop first. 

 

~*~*~*~*~

_  
He remembers pain, and weakness, a dimly lit locker room_

_dizziness, a spilled milk carton, a hand pushing him over_

_hard concrete against his back, a bruising grip digging into his hips, painful thrusting-_

Puma gasps awake, the vestiges of his dream leaving him shaking, but with no memory of what it was about; the images disappearing into nothingness as he came back to reality.

A reality he didn't recognize, which had a wooden slatboard ceiling. Where was he? And how did he get here? His eyes widened and his breathing got faster as a thought came to him; maybe he was kidnappe-

A sudden "You're awake." Snaps him out of his thoughts and he looks over in the direction of the source of the sound to see an unconcerned looking Cuerno whittling some wood while sitting in a plush armchair covered in furs, not taking his eyes off his work.  
"This is my house." He vaguely gestures with the hand not currently holding the knife. 

Puma glances around the place, noting that it was styled to look rather like a log cabin. Hmm, that seemed fitting actually. 

After seeing that Puma had calmed down a bit Cuerno asked the question that was on his mind "Did you remember anything?"

Puma tries to recall what his dream was about, but coming up blank he shakes his head from side to side, only to gasp out when he feels a sudden jolt of pain emanate from the far side of his head when it rubs against the couch's armrest. 

"That's the concussion." Cuerno says as he gets up and starts to head over.

Puma reaches up to feel at it, hand coming into contact with some thick bandaging. Then he notices that his arm is yellow. _What?_ He looks down at his chest to see the case is the same there. Completely yellow. Oh! That's his sweater! Then a confused expression overtakes his features, as he's pretty sure he left it home. 

"I stopped by your house to pick it up before coming here." The Hunter spoke up as he messed with some things on the side table by the sofa.  
At Puma's raised brows he elaborates.  
"I know where you live."  
That doesn't seem to help much as Puma's confused expression merely morphs into a creeped out one.  
"Now don't make things weird; I know where everyone lives. Anyway for some reason that's the only clothing I was able to find at your place, so that's all I came back with." Cuerno defends as he finishes fiddling with stuff on the table.

Hmm, maybe Puma should stop hiding his things under the floorboards. But at least he has his favorite sweater!  
His thoughts are interrupted as a hand holding several pills is suddenly in front of him.  
  
Huh? He looks over at Cuerno for an explanation.  
"This is the medicine Dr. Irving prescribed."

Puma looks back down at it wearily, wondering what possible reason there could be for him having to take 8 pills at once. 

 

Seeing that Puma probably won't take them until he knows more about them, Cuerno explains what each of the pills are for, and Puma finally accepts them, taking them into his own hand.  
But when the injured fighter starts looking around as if he's searching for something Cuerno realizes that he forgot to have something for Puma to take them with. 

"Hold on." He says as he heads off for the kitchen.  
On the short trip there he remembers one of the many things the Dr. had instructed. She said Puma would most likely have a loss of appetite and wouldn't be able to handle solid food for a while, but that Cuerno would still need to make sure the young luchador got some calories in him. Just then he arrived at his fridge and opened it to see what he had that would do. He spots a hand-sized carton of half and half and picks it up. He had been planning on using it for one of his dishes, but thinks Puma needs it more than he does. 

Decision made, he goes back into the living room and offers the drink to the recumbent warrior, which seems to make Puma stiffen, eyes wide and breathing getting faster. Then Cuerno realizes that he's an idiot, because a carton of milk is what got Puma into this whole mess in the first place, and seeing one must've just jogged his memory, so now of course he'd be afraid to drink one. Cuerno keeps a calm composure and shrugs, opening it and drinking about a third of the contents -seeing out of the corner of his eye Puma staring at him- and offering it again. "You sure you don't want any? I can't finish it myself." 

Puma seems to at least be thinking about it, having calmed down a bit by this point, so Cuerno sets it on the side table "Well, I'll just leave it here in case you change your mind." and then heads back over to the kitchen. 

He keeps a surreptitious eye on his charge from his new vantage point and sees Puma reach out for the milk carton, sniff it, and then take a small sip. When no adverse effects seem to come into play he tosses back all the pills at once and downs the rest of the creamy substance in one go. Hmm, must've been thirsty. Or he just really likes milk.

Cuerno doesn't like milk (not by itself), but he was sure that was the only way to get Puma to drink any, and Puma needed to get some calories into him.

Anyway, now that that was handled it was time for Cuerno to get some food into himself and head off to work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, there ya go! Hopefully I'll have the next part out before _too_ long.  
> And remember, comments and kudos are much appreciated~


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, I was sick for nearly two weeks, so that's one reason why this chap took so long to get out. That and it's nearly 3 times the length of either of the first 2 chapters, so yay for that~  
> Hope you enjoy!

Cuerno opens the fridge and spots the duck pâté he had made the other day, but couldn't finish. He puts that on the stove to heat while toasting some herb bread and cutting up some vegetables. 

After finishing his meal he cleans his dishes and then goes to the fridge to grab a bottle of water and a Gatorade before heading back into the living room. 

When he gets to the couch he sees that Puma has fallen back asleep. A medium volumed "Hey." pulls him out of his slumber easily enough though. His bleary eyes look up to Cuerno in query.  
"You hungry?"

The question took a couple seconds to register, but when it did Puma's face scrunched up in response; just the thought of food made him feel rather nauseous. 

"I thought as much." The hunter said before setting down a couple drinks on the side table and going over to a big duffle bag on the floor. 

Puma decided to inspect said drinks while Cuerno was doing that. He was halfway through the ingredient list when the hunter came back holding what looked to be a big bowl and maybe a pan of some sort? What could those be for? Is Cuerno planning on baking a cake or something?  
Seems like the hunter takes mercy on him though as he explains what they are for.

"This," Cuerno gives the chartreuse bowl in his left hand a light shake "is in case you need to vomit," he sets it down on the floor by the head of the couch. "And this" he gives the thing in his other hand a shake "is in case you need to urinate while I'm out." He finishes while setting it down on the couch by Puma's hip. 

The recumbent man practically blanches at that.  
He _really_ hopes he doesn't need to go before Cuerno gets back; he doesn't want the hunter to be annoyed at having to clean up after him. Plus it would be super embarrassing. 

At the injured fighter's expression Cuerno was quick to assure "I deal with worse gutting animals." punctuating his cavalierity with a shrug so Puma wouldn't be embarrassed about it and Cuerno could continue on with his day without worrying about Puma's bladder exploding. And since his words made Puma's expression go from embarrassed to slightly concerned he figured it'd worked well enough.

"Anyway, I'm leaving for work now. Don't forget to take your next dose of meds when that" he points to a cuckoo clock on the wall opposite Puma "shows it's been 4 hours since your last dose. So 1 o'clock, got it?"

Puma gives a sleepy thumbs up in response, which is good enough for Cuerno. 

Then Puma made a strange movement that kinda looked like he was blowing Cuerno a kiss, but that would be absurd, so the hunter wrote it off as an odd tick.

"Alright, I'll be back later." And with that he was out the door and Puma went back to slumberland. 

\----

Cuerno was still in his parked vehicle outside his house 5 minutes later, thinking he's probably crazy for being worried about leaving Puma alone. It's not like he's gonna up and die if Cuerno's gone for 4 hours! With that thought bolstering his resolve he jammed his key in the ignition and started up his engine.

~*~•~*~

Puma must be a pretty popular guy judging by how quiet the place is today when it's usually so loud. The news about what happened traveled quickly, and although the details were unknown, it was still heard that Puma was injured and had needed to be rushed to the hospital.

Quiet susurrations filled the temple as everyone threw ideas and theories around about what could've happened.

The usually raucous Underground Temple brought to near silence by one missing man, who would've thought? 

It's actually Dario Cueto himself who disturbs the sound of relative silence. "Hey, get back to work all of you, I am not paying you to estand around and doing nothing!" And then he's back in his office. 

That seemed to break the fighters out of their musings at least, if the sounds of fists hitting punching bags, and weights being removed from racks were anything to go by. 

-

Everything goes by relatively normally until Cuerno hears that he has a match with someone. -A practice match, but still a match- He hadn't been aware he'd be fighting today, so it was probably a last-minute decision. Great. That meant he'd be later in getting back to Puma than he'd originally thought. Oh well, guess he'll just make sure to end the match expediently.

-

His opponent quickly disposed of (possible broken leg), Cuerno was now on his way to the grocery store to pick up some much needed supplies. 

 

He grabs plenty of fruit, yogurt, some of his usual stuff, and -not knowing what Puma prefers- picks up like 5 different kinds of milk before heading back home to check on his charge. 

~*~*~*~

Cuerno, laden with reusable canvas shopping bags full of groceries, makes sure to enter his place as silently as he can, just in case Puma is asleep. 

He sets down his stuff and shuts the door in such a way that it makes no sound, before turning around and heading toward the couch.

Upon spotting Puma first thing he can tell is that the smaller man isn't sleeping, second is that he doesn't appear to be doing too well.

He sees some sweat on his brow, face scrunched up and little hissing noises coming out of his mouth every couple seconds, hands clenching whatever lay beneath them. Then Cuerno notices only one of the pill bottles appears to have been touched, and oh. Puma's in pain right now, and would be making plaintive noises if he could. Which makes Cuerno realize that Puma couldn't even call out for help while he was being...  
for some reason that thought makes Cuerno's blood boil -which is strange, since he hardly even knows the guy-.  
Before he can think on it though, movement catches his attention as one of Puma's hands drifts up to rub at his chest.

~*~*~*~

_Puma awoke in a daze, feeling dizzy though he was lying down. His head swam with not only nausea, but also the dreams -or memories- that managed to stay with him into the waking world._

pain, and weakness, a dimly lit locker room

dizziness, a spilled milk carton, a hand pushing him over

pressure, blood, the tang of spiked milk on his lips

_He could practically taste the stuff on his tongue now. Where did the head injury come into play though? He tried to recall, but that only made his head hurt worse. And now that he thought about it, everything kinda hurt. Why was that? He let his eyes wander around the room while he contemplated it, until they landed on the cuckoo clock opposite him. Hmm, neat. It read 2:45._

_Wasn't there something important he was supposed to remember about the funny clock with the wooden bird? It felt like it, but what could it possibly be? After a minute a fractured memory surfaces._

__"Shows.. 4 hours, ..clock.. it"

_What?_

_..._

_Oh! Now he remembers! He's supposed to take his meds again! That should be easy enough._

_He reaches out to pick up one of the four orange containers on the side table -and noted with some annoyance that he had trouble even getting the darn thing open- then paused._

How many was he supposed to take? 

_He searched his fuzzy and aching head, but couldn't remember the exact dosage.  
Plus he hadn't been told how many of each to take, just what all of them were for. _

_Puma was no medical professional, but even he knew that taking the wrong amount could spell danger. Guess he'd just have to tough it out until Cuerno got back.  
Speaking of which, shouldn't he be here by now? It's almost 3. Then again he never said _ when _he'd be back, just that he_ would _be back. Which was actually kinda reassuring if you thought about it._

_As the minutes ticked by the pain emanating from different areas became harder to ignore._

_And now that he thought about it, breathing was getting harder and his chest felt weird, like someone had stomped on it the day previous._

_He released the death grip he didn't realize he'd had on the couch below him and started rubbing at his chest in hopes of relieving some of the pain._  
He didn't have a chance to see if it worked as something grabbed his attention just then.

"If you chest is sore, it's from the compressions that were necessary before the ambulance arrived." 

Startled, Puma dropped his hand and looked to the side to see none other than the hunter, King Cuerno standing not 8 feet away.  
When did he get there? Puma hadn't even heard him come in! 

Then his mind catches up with what his host had said.  
He'd needed _CPR?_ He looks down at his chest and stops to think of what that meant. That he was drugged so thoroughly that he stopped _breathing_. A shiver runs down his spine at that; he doesn't want to think of what would've happened had Cuerno not shown up when he had. Because he not only called an ambulance, but kept him alive until it got there.

Then he notices that he's starting to feel light-headed and like he might pass out any second.  
He suddenly feels a hand on his back, hoisting him up into a sitting position and, surprised, he instinctively reaches out and grabs onto whatever is in front of him. 

Which just so happens to be Cuerno's arm, which is holding Puma's next dose of meds.  
After realizing this Puma quickly retracts his hand and signs sorry, hoping he didn't agitate Cuerno too much.  
Then, thinking he should accept the offer, he slowly reaches out a lightly shaking hand towards Cuerno's still one.

-

Cuerno thinks he should probably have given Puma a warning before sitting him up, as that's the second time he startled the injured fighter in as many minutes.  
And he can't help but notice how weak Puma's grip feels on his arm. It's gone as quickly as it arrives though and Puma is rubbing at his chest again, but in small circles with a closed hand above his heart this time, and only for a second before reaching out to accept Cuerno's offer. 

Once the pills are in Puma's grasp Cuerno turns around to grab a fresh carton of milk, pops it open, "Here." and then hands it to Puma to take his meds with. 

 

Puma graciously accepts the milk and quickly down it and the meds.  
After a minute or two breathing becomes much easier and he no longer feels light-headed, just a tad dizzy still. He wipes his mouth with the back of his hand and signs Cuerno a grateful thank you. Cuerno merely squints at him in return.

 

That's the second time Puma has done that strange hand movement and Cuerno was starting to wonder if it actually meant something. 

He didn't have much time to think about it though as that's when Puma looked as if he wanted to ask him something, but seemed too embarrassed. Cuerno had one guess as to what it was. 

\--

Oh no, Cuerno looks like he's already annoyed -if his squinting is anything to go by-, which is not good because now Puma needs to _go_ , but he doesn't want to bother the hunter too much, and he's not sure how to ask anyway. Turns out he doesn't need to though.

"Bathroom?" Cuerno suddenly says, unperturbed.

_How did he know?_ Puma looks away and nods slowly. He hears an "Alright." and then feels hands slide underneath his knees and back, then the world spins a little as he's lifted off the couch. He closes his eyes to mitigate the nausea he suddenly feels at the movement and breathes through clenched teeth until they reach their destination.  
He reopens his eyes when he hears a light switch being flipped on and squints at the brightness as he's carried to the toilet and set down so he's standing in front of it. 

Cuerno turns around to give him privacy, and wraps an arm around the injured man's waist.

Puma stiffens, the hold reminding him of the Flatliner. Maybe Cuerno reached his breaking point, being annoyed with Puma needing so much help, and decided to smash him through the-

"So you won't fall." Cuerno clarifies succinctly, and Puma relaxes, -that made a lot more sense than what he was thinking- then gets down to business. 

Halfway through, the bathroom starts to tilt to the side and he feels the arm around him tighten. _What?_  
Oh, the room wasn't tilting, _he_ was; good thing Cuerno thought ahead.  
After he finishes up, and signals as much to Cuerno, the hunter turns back around while putting his other arm around Puma -joining his two hands- and literally lifts Puma off the ground, turns back around and sets him down in front of the sink so he can wash his hands.  
Once the whole bathroom cycle is finished Cuerno picks him back up, then carries him over to the couch and lays him back down on it. 

Puma kept his eyes shut again on the short trip back to keep the nausea at bay, and thought that that whole experience was actually a lot less embarrassing than he was expecting (and _definitely_ a lot less embarrassing than using a bedpan). He signed another thanks to Cuerno once the world stayed still for a few seconds, not sure that Cuerno actually understood the gesture, but wanting to at least _try_ to be a polite guest.  
Then he closed his eyes and settled in for another nap, feeling exhausted even though he awoke only a short while ago.

\---

Cuerno squinted at the already fast asleep Puma; that was the _third_ time the recumbent man did that same gesture and Cuerno made a note to look it up.  
But first he was gonna put away the groceries.  
Just before he goes over to pick them up though he notices something amiss; he doesn't see the bed pan where he left it, nor anywhere else for that matter. He figures he'll find it later, and continues on with his task of putting away the groceries.

Once the produce was safely in his kitchen and he replaced the untouched water and Gatorade with fresh versions he stopped to think about a few things that were on his mind. 

Puma's grip had been really weak when he'd grabbed onto Cuerno's arm in shock earlier. Dr. Irving did say that was one of the many possible side effects of the medication (luckily she'd given Cuerno a list so he didn't have to memorize them all). Loss of grip strength. Cuerno heads over to the giant duffle bag full of supplies he'd been given and checks the list to find out that it seems like that one is probably a side effect from the pain meds. 

Secondly, Puma seemed to have trouble with his head when being moved, even though Cuerno made sure to do so very slowly. That concussion must be pretty nasty.  
Which brings him to his third thought:  
why hadn't Puma taken his meds before Cuerno got back? Was it because he couldn't get the containers open? No, only one of them had been touched, and if Puma couldn't open one he probably would've thought it broken and tried the next. Maybe he couldn't remember the dosage? A concussion would do that to you, and now that Cuerno thinks about it he didn't exactly tell Puma how many of each to take. He grabs a permanent marker and writes the dosage down on each of the containers. 

That dealt with, he checks the clock and sees that it's 3:01.  
That means Puma was nearly two hours overdue for his meds, which explained why he looked so bad off when the hunter arrived. 

Just then Cuerno realizes that he could use some help taking care of Puma and has the brilliant idea to recruit someone tonight, because you never knew what could come up or what sort of problems could arise while you were gone for too long. 

He already had someone in mind, but he'd still be doing some scouting when he went back in to work today. 

Speaking of which he better get some food in him before he left. He glanced at Puma one last time to make sure he was fine before going into the kitchen for a quick meal. 

After eating some filet mignon accompanied by a fresh salad, he writes down on a sticky note when Puma is supposed to take his next dose of meds and sticks in on the table where it can be easily seen. Then, deciding it's better to be safe than sorry, he pulls out the 8 pills and sets them down right next to the note before heading out again. 

~*~*~*~*~*~

_A dimly lit room, a hard floor_

_a shadowy figure looming over him_

_A hand grabbing onto his head and suddenly slamming it down, hard_

_Crack!_

Puma jolts awake, gasping for breath.

So _that's_ how he got the concussion. But _why_ would they have done that? His gorge makes itself known at that moment and he lurches to the side to throw up in the provided bowl, sides straining from the force of the muscle contractions and head pounding from the sudden activity. 

Panting, and eyes watering, he blearily stared into the greenish blueish liquid in the bowl -having awoken earlier and taken his meds that had been lain out for him with the provided Gatorade- and nearly threw up again due to the horrible taste in his mouth and the pain emanating from his head injury. 

He raised both hands to clutch at his head in a futile attempt to mitigate the pain, and when he was pretty sure he wasn't going to throw up again he started to lay back down, but froze, breath caught in his throat, when he saw Cuerno standing just a few feet off, staring at him. 

After nearly boring a hole into his head Cuerno turned on his heel and left the room. 

Puma started breathing (panting) again and lay back, eyes closed, trying to will the pulsing in his head away.  
He wonders why he didn't hear Cuerno come in, but then figures he must've been puking at the time. 

His breathing has evened out by the time his ears twitch at the sound of footsteps approaching and he peels his eyes open to see a blurry Cuerno holding a... milk carton?  
He removes his hands from his skull to wipe the moisture away from his eyes and sees Cuerno shift something in his arms and pop open the carton, then offer it to him. 

Puma sits up a bit to accept it and slowly brings it to his lips. After a couple sips the foul aftertaste of the vomit dissipates and it's when he's about halfway done that Cuerno leans closer and says "Hold this." and Puma feels a sudden coldness at the side of his head, causing him to gasp and flinch, nearly spilling some milk in the process, pulse spiking at something touching his injury.  
"Ice pack" Cuerno explains succinctly, patiently holding it in place while waiting for Puma to take over. 

Heart rate coming back down to normal, he reaches up and grabs it as Cuerno lets go once he's sure Puma has a good hold on it. 

The Prince feels the cold slowly seep into his skull, the pulsing pain making way for a welcome numbness. He sighs in relief and relaxes, other hand coming up so he can finish his drink. Once it's been efficiently drained he goes to crush it -as he likes to do- but frowns when it doesn't budge. He tries again, to no avail, then looks at the carton in bewilderment.  
Did Cuerno spring for the reinforced version or something? 

The hunter seems to notice his conundrum as he speaks up then, causing Puma to look over at him.  
"The Doctor said the medication could have side effects, loss of grip strength being one; most likely from the pain meds." 

Oh. Puma looked from Cuerno back to the hand holding the empty container, thinking that made more sense than an industrial strength milk carton existing. He releases the carton, letting it fall onto his stomach as he turns his hand into a fist, clenching it hard as he can, then opening it up to note he didn't even leave any crescent indentations in his skin, meaning his grip _is_ quite weak. That isn't comforting in the least. 

Cuerno takes this opportunity to grab the no-longer-empty chartreuse bowl and take it to the bathroom to clean it.

Puma doesn't even get the chance to say thanks, as by the time he noticed Cuerno moving he was already walking off, facing away, so he wouldn't be able to see it anyway. Oh well. 

Puma closes his eyes and breathes deeply, relaxing back against the couch, hand coming down to rest on his chest as the ice pack is now being held in place by the cushions.

Cuerno is almost finished with his task of cleaning the bowl when he thinks of what he learned while at work when he googled the strange hand movements Puma had been doing and found out the injured fighter had been using sign language to thank him, and even apologize for grabbing Cuerno's arm earlier, even though it hadn't hurt and it was the hunter's fault for surprising him anyway. 

 

Puma is fast asleep by the time Cuerno re-enters the living room, which the hunter thinks is odd, since he still has the ice pack pressed up against his head. Does he want to get brain freeze? Or maybe he just can't think straight because of the concussion. Either way Cuerno will just make sure to remove it in a while. 

He sets the bowl back in its place on the floor by the head of the couch and picks up the empty milk carton resting on Puma's stomach, careful not to disturb the recumbent man's sleep.  
Heading over to the kitchen he makes a last second decision and easily crushes it in his hand before tossing in it the trash can.

Then, since he's already in the kitchen he starts making his dinner. He decides on a quick stir fry of duck egg and complimenting vegetables, with some guava juice for his drink.

After finishing his meal and cleaning his dishes he goes back into the living room to check on Puma, who is still sound asleep, ice pack trapped between his head and the sofa. Knowing it will only make the injury hurt worse if left there he slowly lifts Puma's head -enough to slide the ice pack out- and gently sets it back down, so as not to wake him. 

Then Cuerno remembers that the Doctor said he'd have to clean the impact site and replace the bandages at least once, so he went over to the big duffle bag of supplies she'd given him, read the instructions on how to do it, and pulled out all the stuff he'd need, laying it all out on the side table. 

He looks over at Puma and stares for a few seconds, debating whether he should do it now, then ultimately deciding he'd let the guy rest for a while before waking him for the procedure.  
And Cuerno thought he might as well brush up on his ASL in the meantime. 

After nearly 2 hours of watching videos and studying charts Cuerno figured it was time to wake the sleeping Puma. 

He goes back into the living room, and once he's situated in front of his charge he calls out to him a couple times, but Puma doesn't stir.  
Not wanting to raise his voice he kneels beside the couch, reaches out and lightly shakes Puma until his eyes flutter open.  
He sees confusion in the brown orbs as the concussed man stares at the ceiling for a couple seconds before a look of recognition overtakes Puma's features. Then he notices Cuerno's presence and he dazedly looks over at the hunter in question once again.

"I need to clean your head wound." Is all he says in explanation.  
After a couple seconds of processing Puma's eyes suddenly shoot open - _oh no, the ice pack!_ \- and he's reaching towards his head, groping around in confusion when he doesn't feel the ice pack where he left it. _Where did it go?_

He looks to Cuerno to see if he knows, only to note the hunter has already busied himself with messing with the stuff on the table, most likely readying the supplies for use. Then he realizes that Cuerno must've removed it while he was sleeping so his head wouldn't freeze. That sure was nice of him, but then Puma cringes when he figures Cuerno probably didn't appreciate having to do that (especially on top of everything else). Before he can think about it too much though he sees movement to his side and turns to see Cuerno reaching for his head. He backs away automatically in response until Cuerno says "Bandages." in explanation, and - _oh right_ \- realizes that Cuerno would need to take them off before he could start the cleaning process. Why did it take him 'til now to realize that though? Must be the concussion. Darn concussion!

Then (while Puma is stuck in his thoughts) Cuerno slowly unwraps the bandages that are holding the pad which is directly touching the wound in place and Puma winces - _that feels weird_ \- as that is peeled away to reveal the dried bloody mess underneath.  
Cuerno glares at it, angry at the sight for some unknown reason, then reaches over to grab a fresh cloth and pour the cleaning solution on it before reaching out with his free hand to grab on to the opposite side of Puma's head "Hold still." and getting to work.

Puma sees the glare on the hunter's face and stiffens, shutting his eyes tight, thinking that Cuerno will be none too gentle about the cleaning, just wanting to get it over with, and that it will probably hurt, even through the pain meds. After a few seconds though he cracks an eye open, and then the other, before blinking a couple times, being surprised by how little pressure the hunter is using (he can hardly feel it) and looking over at him to see Cuerno seems to have calmed down, then slowly relaxing, while making sure to keep still. 

Cuerno sees the look on Puma's face and makes sure to be extra gentle because Puma looks like he's preparing for the worst, so maybe it already hurts (especially if that wince was anything to go by).  
He focuses on his task until all the blood is cleared away, then lets go of Puma's head so he can put some ointment on a new pad of gauze before applying it to where the old one was.  
Gauze in one hand and roll of fresh bandages in the other, he once again reaches out to Puma -who doesn't back away this time- and holds the pad in place while wrapping the bandages around his head to keep it there. 

"Done." He announces as he stands up to put the supplies away. He sees some movement from Puma out of his peripheral -probably him saying thanks again- but focuses his attention on cleaning up. When he's on his way to the kitchen to throw away the refuse he checks the clock and notes that it's about time for Puma to take his meds again and for them both to go to sleep for the night. 

After chucking the bloody, or otherwise no longer useful medical paraphernalia and washing his hands he opens the fridge and -thinking he can probably handle it by this point- grabs an Odwalla smoothie for Puma to take his meds with, then heads back into the living room and hands it to Puma to inspect while Cuerno readies the pills. 

He gets all 8 out and turns to see Puma having trouble breaking the seal on the bottle, then grabs it "Trade." and hands Puma the pills to hold while he opens the drink.

Puma stares at his hands for a second while Cuerno is doing that, thinking about how he managed to open the Gatorade earlier, but had trouble with it. That medicine really does a number on him if it effects him to that degree. Then the smoothie is back in his hand, but uncapped now. He hesitates for a second, but then tosses back the pills, not wanting to experience feeling the pain of his injuries again. 

After downing his meds and about a 4th of the drink he looks down at it and thinks that while he doesn't need to pee now, if he drinks the rest of it he'll probably need to go in the middle of the night, and that would _not_ work; he wouldn't want to disturb the hunter's sleep (even if he could figure out _how_ to from a room away, that is). 

"I'll take you to the bathroom after you're finished." Cuerno spoke, as if reading his mind. Puma just stared at him in shock for a few seconds before nodding slowly and then finishing his drink at a moderate pace. 

It seems as though not a second passes after the last drop is drained that he feels hands being slid underneath him again. He closes his eyes to preemptively mitigate the nausea the elevation difference will inevitably cause. Thankfully it's not quite as bad this time around and before he knows it they're in the bathroom and he's being set down again. That's when he notices the empty bottle is missing. _Hmm, must've dropped it on the way._ He ignores it for now in lieu of getting his bathroom business done with. 

Puma doesn't even get the chance to tilt sideways this time as Cuerno makes sure to actively keep him stationary from the beginning.  
After finishing up Cuerno takes him back to the living room and slowly sets him down on the couch before bending down to pick up the empty smoothie bottle that lay on the floor from when Puma dropped it in surprise at being lifted without warning, and taking it to the kitchen to rinse it out and toss it in the recycling bin. 

Then he heads back to the living room to tell Puma it's bed time and sees the younger fighter yawning silently, eyes drooping, and then noticing the hunter and looking over at him sleepily. 

"I'm heading to bed now, you need anything?" He asks while staring down at the barely conscious man.

Puma thought for a couple seconds before slowly shaking his head, unable to think of anything. 

Cuerno grunts in response and leans over Puma to reach the top of the back of the couch and pull down a soft, fuzzy throw (which Puma hadn't even noticed was there) and lay it atop the sleepy man to keep him warm during the night.  
Puma instantly snuggles into it, practically burying himself amidst the fuzzy folds. 

Cuerno goes around turning the lights off, while keeping an eye on Puma's reaction to make sure he's fine with it being dark before asking "You want the lamp on?" to be on the safe side. After getting a slow shake of the head in response he grunts and continues on into his room. 

Puma felt the warmth of the blanket engulf his entire body, making him feel nice and cozy. He hadn't thought to ask for a blanket -probably because he'd been fine without one during the day and it wasn't quite cold yet- but was grateful for it now. He struggled to keep his eyes open as the warmth pulled him inexorably closer to slumberland, wanting to get in a couple last-minute thoughts before letting the darkness take over. 

He thought about how he preferred this to being in a hospital full of strangers, not even knowing how safe the place was for him under his current circumstances.  
This place felt much safer, and it was actually comforting to have someone he knew there with him. Even if that someone was _Cuerno_ of all people. He wouldn't've guessed that to be the case in a million years. 

No longer being able to keep his eyes open any longer he falls into a peaceful sleep. 

Cuerno finishes getting ready for bed and leaves his door open, just in case anything happens or Puma ends up needing something in the middle of the night. 

He climbs under the covers, but before he can even try to sleep his thoughts drift to ones about the man sleeping on his couch just in the other room, and about the state he was in when the hunter had arrived most recently.  
He had thrown up and was clutching at his skull with tears in his eyes.

Who knows how long Puma was suffering from that headache for? It must've been pretty bad too if he was feeling it through the pain meds. And judging by how quickly he fell asleep after it was treated it might've even been keeping him up. Then Cuerno feels better about tomorrow because he'll probably have a second person to help watch Puma.

_Cuerno had been keeping a closer eye than usual on everyone at the temple that day, seeing what each fighter's reaction was to the news of Puma being indisposed, and noticing one person who seemed to be most worried._

_Having made his choice, Cuerno approached the long-haired one, then got their attention and said "Hey, you're friends with Puma, right?"_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Isn't Cuerno just the best?
> 
> Anyway I already have a little bit of the next chapter written, so hopefully that won't take too long to get out. ^-^


	4. Chapter 4

Cuerno awoke to morning sunlight streaming in through the windows and looked at the digital clock on the nightstand to his right to note the time was 7:04. He never used the alarm since he always woke up around the same time every day anyway.  
He decides to check on Puma before changing out of his night clothes, just to make sure everything was fine with his charge.

He enters the living room to see Puma thankfully sound asleep and approaches him. He stares at the sleeping figure, wondering whether he should wake him up to take his meds now.  
See, Puma'd had a bit of a rough night:

\---  
_  
The hunter's eyes shot open to reveal a darkness that was only present in the middle of the night. He had no idea what had woken him up at such an hour, so he scanned his surroundings, but saw nothing amiss, and he heard nothing aside from the usual sounds of the night. Before giving up and just going back to sleep though, he gets the strange feeling that he should check on Puma first._

_-_

_Puma awoke to an odd sensation, but he couldn't place what it was until a few seconds later, when it happened again.  
A pulse-like wave, not dissimilar to that of a blast emanating from the epicenter of an explosion, coursed its way through his head starting from the impact sight of his cranial injury. _

_He tried to ignore it and go back to sleep, but couldn't quite manage to as it just steadily grew more intense as the minutes ticked by._

_An indeterminate amount of time later one hand had managed to climb its way up to clutch at his head without his notice and he eventually brought up his second one to join it in a futile attempt to mitigate the feeling.  
He can't tell if it actually hurts, but it aches and _ keeps _pulsing and Puma doesn't know how much more he can take because it felt like his head was going to_ explode _._

_After several minutes of clutching his head and willing the agony to go away he opened his eyes to the sight of a pair of legs not two feet from him._ Cuerno? What is he doing up? _  
Puma releases his head and uncurls enough to look up at the face belonging to those legs._

_His eyes meet with Cuerno's for just a second before the other man turns on his heel and heads off in the direction of the kitchen._  
Huh, must've just woken up to get a glass of water or something.  
Just then another pulse makes itself known and he clutches at his head again, turning to his other side and curling up even tighter than before and trying to keep his breathing steady.

_Cuerno goes straight to the fridge to grab an ice pack for what appeared to be a pretty intense headache, judging by the tears staining Puma's face, and how tightly he was clutching at his head._  
Figuring it would be a good idea, he also grabs a hand towel and wraps it around the ice pack so the cold won't be so shocking to Puma this time around.  
Before taking it out to his suffering guest though, he makes sure to grab one last thing before he makes his exit. 

_When he re-enters the living room he sees Puma curled up on his other side now, eyes clenched tightly shut and hands clutching at his head once again._

_He heads over to him, also grabbing a tissue on the way, and after a few seconds of waiting for Puma to open his eyes Cuerno bends down to hold the ice pack against the injury himself, not wanting to call out to Puma and possibly worsen his headache with the noise._

_For some reason Puma feels his headache slowly fading, and after a while he opens his eyes in confusion only to see Cuerno_ right there _next to him. He freezes and goes to lower his arms to rest on the couch, but one of his hands doesn't make it to its destination as it's grabbed by Cuerno and placed over a weird lumpy thing that's kinda cold- oh! It must be an ice pack! Which would explain why his headache started to disappear- and it's only released once Cuerno's sure Puma has a good hold on it. Then a noise of something hard being set down on the table is heard, followed by Cuerno saying "Knock this over if you need anything." and Puma looks at the table to see an empty tin can sitting on it, then turns his head just in time to see the hunter slipping into his room, most likely to go back to sleep. Speaking of which it sure was lucky Cuerno got up when he did (and gave Puma an ice pack), otherwise he doesn't know what would've happened._

_He then uncurls to lay flat on his back and notices something shift around on his stomach. Upon closer inspection he notes it's a tissue._ When did that get there? _He's pretty sure it wasn't there before Cuerno showed up, so he must've given it to him. But why? He reaches up to touch his face and his fingers come back wet._ What? _He hadn't even noticed he'd been crying.  
He wipes his face dry with the soft square and closes his eyes to let the cold from the ice pack sink in, making sure not to fall asleep with it pinned under his head this time. _

_Cuerno gives it 10 minutes before he goes back out to check on the injured luchador. He finds Puma asleep, tissue used, and ice pack on the floor below a hand dangling just off the side of the couch._  
Looks like he learnt from last time.  


 

Cuerno broke out of his trance like state and decided to let the guy sleep a while longer while he got some stuff done around the house. 

Before making his way to his room to get dressed though his eyes fall upon the tin can he left out last night, and he can't help but to think of how Puma was suffering silently without a way to call out to him easily and that it was pure luck that Cuerno even noticed, which makes him feel a pang of... something.  
Who knows how long Puma would've been crying and suffering if he hadn't checked on him? Might not've gotten any sleep at all (which would be tantamount to torture). He decides to get Puma a bell to make things easier. And probably some activate-able ice packs so he can leave some with Puma in case he gets another headache, but while Cuerno is out. 

-

After taking out the trash, studying some more ASL and eating a breakfast of fusilli pasta with marinated artichoke hearts and fresh vegetables, Cuerno prepares some fruit and yogurt for Puma, but just a small amount because he doesn't know how much food the guy's stomach can handle yet.  
He approaches the still sleeping Luchador and only needs to call out to him once before his eyelids are fluttering open. After a couple seconds he notices Cuerno and looks up at him in question. 

"It's morning." Is all the hunter supplies.

Puma blinks a couple times before realizing that means it's time to wake up. He then started stretching much like a cat would when he suddenly froze, eyes wide, and fisted his hands in the blanket, gripping it tightly. 

 

Cuerno raises a brow at the sight.  
Was his head bothering him again? No, he wasn't reaching for it, so it must be the lower injury. Cuerno glares at that, feeling a rage simmer just below the surface for some reason. He ignores it though, and in an effort to distract the other from his plight offers out the food he prepared for him. 

-

Stretching felt nice, but when he started on his legs Puma felt a sharp pain low down, a shocking reminder of what supposedly happened. He freezes and grabs the blanket as tightly as he can, trying to keep his breathing under control and to not freak out, but "Here." he is pulled from his thoughts when Cuerno holds out what appears to be a small bowl of fruit and yogurt he must've just prepared.  
From the expression on his face though Puma can only assume he's annoyed at having had to go through the trouble of making it for him though so he looks down and away and signs a quick ' _sorry'._

"What for?"

A shocked Puma looks back up at Cuerno and signs _"You know sign?"_

To which the hunter replies "Some." And offers the fruit and yogurt again.  
Puma releases the blanket from the death grip he forgot he had on it and slowly reaches out to accept the offering, hoping his stomach would be able to handle some light food by this point. 

Cuerno goes over to the table and starts moving stuff around while Puma takes a test bite. Feeling no disagreement from his stomach he keeps going.  
After a few more slow bites though Puma notices he's having trouble keeping a grip on the spoon. He releases it and looks to his side to see Cuerno putting the cap back on the last pill bottle. He looks back at his now unoccupied hand, knowing those pills are the cause of his current dilemma, and wondering whether it's worth it to take them if they affect him to this degree, as being this weak kind of puts him on edge. 

 

"Here." Cuerno held out Puma's meds along with a freshly opened carton of milk, which pulled the younger fighter's attention away from his own hand to look over at the hunter and see what he was holding before looking back at his rebelling appendage and finally turning to face away from his host. 

Cuerno had noticed Puma's difficulty with holding the spoon tightly enough to use it, and could understand why the young luchador would be reluctant to take more of what caused that, but he kind of needed to.  
Knowing you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar (even though that wasn't actually true) he tested out a theory.

"Cake."  
_  
Huh?_ Why in the world would Cuerno randomly say-

"Cookies."

...Was Cuerno feeling okay? 

"Pudding."

Puma instantly perked up at the sound of his favorite treat. He'd only had it a couple times, but it was pretty much the tastiest thing he'd ever eaten. 

'Got it' was Cuerno's only thought before he jumped into bargaining. "If you take your pills now I'll get you some pudding later."

Puma turned to look at the hunter in surprise and then squinted down at the pills in his hand for a minute before deflating and nodding his head in acquiescence.  
Setting the bowl on his sweater covered stomach he accepted the pills and milk and downed them both efficiently, then handed the empty carton back to the hunter before staring down at the half finished bowl of fruit and yogurt, thinking he probably wouldn't be able to finish it. 

"Done?" Puma looked up to see Cuerno with an eyebrow raised and a hand outstretched to take away the unfinished portion of his breakfast.  
At Puma's hesitant nod of affirmation he picks it up and heads off to the kitchen to do away with the leftovers and empty carton. 

Not two minutes later he's back by Puma's side and saying "Bathroom." before scooping him up once again. Puma closes his eyes in preparation for the nausea he'll be certain to feel from the movement and wonders when that will stop being the case.  
It goes the same as usual, Cuerno keeping him from falling -or even tipping- to the side, and soon he's back at his resting place on the cushions.

 

Setting Puma back on the couch Cuerno looks over his charge, noting Puma has his eyes closed, waiting for the lingering nausea to dissipate. Then Cuerno's eyes fall upon the pants from the hospital Puma'd been given yesterday, and -squinting at them- he decides to check his room to see if he had something else Puma could wear instead.

Looking through his closet he picks a pair of soft lounge pants he occasionally uses on his days off from work (and when he's not hunting) and heads back into the living room.

"Want to change?" Was Cuerno's opening question when he got to the couch, causing Puma to turn and look at him. Then the recumbent luchador noticed the pants Cuerno was holding out and looked interested in them, so Cuerno took that as a yes, but then a look of confusion came over Puma's face, probably wondering how he would change his pants without hurting himself. Cuerno stepped forward and set the new pants on the far end of the couch before reaching up and laying the blanket back over Puma's lower half, then reaching under to grab ahold of the cuffs of the sweat pants he was currently wearing. Before he took them off though he looked Puma in the eye and asked "Ready?"  
After a couple seconds of confusion Puma figured out what exactly Cuerno was doing and then nodded.  
Not wasting a second Cuerno pulled them off in a single fluid movement. He then unceremoniously dropped them on the floor and picked up the new pair, then put his hands under the blanket again and slid the pants up Puma's legs until he got to his upper thighs.  
Then he put his hand on the small of Puma's back and lifted him just enough so the waistband wouldn't catch on the sofa, and slid them up the rest of the way with one hand. 

Having finished his task, Cuerno turned away to pick up the discarded pants that he was going to burn and tossed them by the door to deal with later. Then, figuring it was about time to head out if he wanted to get any shopping in before work, headed to the kitchen to grab a couple drinks to leave out for his guest. 

-

Wow, that sure was easier than Puma was expecting. And the pants are _soft_ , which he was hoping for. He would thank Cuerno, but the hunter had already left the room.  
And now that he was nice and comfy (and fed) Puma's eyelids began to droop.

 

Cuerno decided on another Gatorade/water combo and, heading back into the living room, he breaks the seals so the impaired luchador won't have trouble with opening them later, but only once Puma's in sight so he knows they're untampered with.

He sets them down on the desk near the sleepy looking luchador before preparing his next dose of meds and writing down the time to take it.  
"I'm heading out now, you need anything else?" He asks while laying the writing utensil to rest.

Puma thinks for a couple seconds and then slowly shakes his head, careful not to jostle his injury.

"Alright, I'll be back around 2." The hunter said, standing from his crouched position.

In response he saw Puma do his thumbs-up, ' _thank you_ ' combo, but Cuerno actually understood it this time. He turned on his heel and headed for the door, only to pause at the last second, hand on the knob, when he decided to deign Puma with a reply, "Don't worry about it." and looked over his shoulder to see the younger man already fast asleep, chest rising and falling with slow, even breaths.

Oh well. He heads out the door, but not before grabbing one last thing.

-

Puma had his eyes closed -having no longer been able to keep them open- when he heard Cuerno's reply and wondered how much sign the hunter actually knew, since he at least recognized sorry and thank you, before the darkness pulled him off to slumberland fully.

-

Cuerno tossed the sweat pants from the hospital on the passenger seat as he got into his truck, figuring he could discard them on his way in to work, and only sat behind the steering wheel with the engine off for 3 minutes this time before deciding Puma should be fine (or at least not die) if left alone for a few hours.  
Then he gunned the engine and was off to the supermarket.

-

He grabs the pudding he said he'd get (a couple different flavors, just in case), and when he's on his way to find some kind of bell he passes by the toothbrush section and realizes that Puma could probably use one since he'd be staying with him for a while.  
That thought gives him pause; he hadn't actually considered how long Puma would be staying at his place, and what would happen after he's healed. He decides to think more on that later and just focus on getting what he needs and getting out.  
He then sees a yellow toothbrush is his hand that he must've picked up without noticing when he was thinking, and -squinting at it- tosses it in his basket.

-

Work went relatively normally (still a little quieter than usual, but not as much as yesterday) until lunch time finally rolled around and he stalked over to the one he'd approached yesterday: Johnny Mundo.

He got his attention before simply saying "We're leaving. _Now_." and letting Mundo play catch-up as Cuerno made his way to the exit.  
He drives quickly, not wanting to leave Puma alone for any longer than necessary, but also making sure he's being followed the whole time.

Cuerno parks in front of his house and -grabbing his supply laden canvas tote- heads up to his front door with Johnny falling in step beside him, the taller man breathing only slightly harder than normal from having to park across the street and run over to catch up with him. 

"What's in the bag?" He hears from the long haired fighter standing next to him. He simply replies "Pudding." As he grabs his keys. Judging from his facial expression it looks like the taller man didn't believe him, but it's not like Cuerno gave a shit about what Johnny thought.  
He opened the door, not bothering to be silent this time around as he would just have to wake Puma anyway to let him know what was going on.

-

Puma found himself awake, which was strange since he still felt tired. He decides to check the clock to see what time it is and then cocks his head to the side in confusion; it's either 12:05, or 1:00, but Puma can't remember which hand is the minute hand and which is the hour hand. Then he gets an idea and just waits a minute to see which one moves first -haha, he's so smart-. After confirming what time it was (1:01 now) he looks to the side table and spots a sticky note with writing on it, then picks it up and reads it. 

_Oh._ Right, he'd have to take his pills again and it looks like now was the time. He wanted to put it off till later (or never), but figured that wasn't a good idea considering what happened last time he was late for a dose. He eyes the containers for a good minute before reluctantly reaching over to grab the first one, but then something catches his eye.  
His next dose had already been lain out. But why? That's wasn't necessary; Puma already knew how many of each to take. Or at least he thinks he does... Okay this was probably for the best. 

He then looks at his drink selection and decides to go with water this time, grabbing it off the table.  
Now here comes the hard part: opening it -which is the main reason he chose water; it was (a lot) easier to open than Gatorade-. Gripping the cap with all the might his brain would send to his finger muscles he twists and... it comes off easily. _Huh?_  
Oh right, now that he thinks about it he can fuzzily remember Cuerno opening them earlier. That was nice of him. 

He grabs the pills and -after giving them one last elongated look- swallows them with the water;  
taking them and suffering a loss of grip and or muscle strength was better than having to sweat from pain after all. Speaking of which he should probably remove his hoodie since he did exactly that in it yesterday. 

He somehow manages to get it off (which turns out to be a lot harder than he thought it would be) without jostling either of his injuries too badly, but is left panting slightly from the effort. He tosses the garment on the back of the sofa and drinks half the Gatorade, knowing he wouldn't have to worry about running out since Cuerno would probably be back in about an hour or so. Then he pauses, realizing that Cuerno actually told him _when_ he'd be back, and not just that he _would._  
His thoughts are interrupted though when his eyelids start to close of their own accord and he decides going back to sleep is the best course of action, so he pulls the blanket up to his chin and nods off within the next minute.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, there ya go!


End file.
